Filliam g-keen



Y f WQ'GREEN Potato Digger and Separator.

.N6, 81,772. Patentgd Sept; 1'. 1868,

m5 WW1 Winemw trut ffim W LL AM GREEN, or O'LL QMLGHIGA Letters PatentNo. 81,772, dated September 1, 1868 antedaterl August 28, 1868. i

mrsovmrsr m P TATO-moose AND streamer,

TO'ALL WHOM LTMAY concerts; I

Be it knownthat I, WmuurGRssn of Holly, in jthe eoimty of'oakland,:i'pdState f Michigan, have I invented a new and improved Potato-Diggerand Sephrator; do herfehy declare 'that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of-the' construction and operationof'th'c'samo,referents-being had to thc "annexed drawings', making apart otjthis specification, in which- 1 Figural is a longitudinalvertical sectionam Figure 2 is a plan.

I In thisinvcntion, a new his improved device is employed for separatingtheivihes from the potatoes,';

wherehy the work is more rapidly and effectually aecomplishedthan iieth'er machines, hnd, in connectionwith this, a new apparatus is usedfor adjusting the workingfpart's' of the 'r'nahine, and throwing theminto or out of gear.

v In thedra-wings, A represents the dist-tet a; B, the driverYs'seatifthe draught wheels; D, the axle tr'ee, connecting the drapght wheels', EE',-:'the' frame, s ipported pporr thei'exle-tree, and itselfsupportingthe shovel F, the conveyer'G, theseparsting-rollers H H, andcords I I, the belt Jyt hat rotates the rollers H H, v

and the box K, that receives the potatoes after they are separatedfrom'the-vines.

The form of the plow or shovel F- is clearly shown in figs. 1 and 2,being abroad inclined straight-edged "shovel scrsper,designed"to-rununder the-hills, plow up dirt, potatoes, and vines, and throw theih'ielltogether over its rear or upper edge upon the conveyor G. It is providedat its uppercorners with guides ff, formed by bending the corners over.inward, in order. to direct the vines, dirt, &c., to the centre of theconveyor, and to prevent them from falling back. v v 7 p The conveyer Gacts as an agitatorandseparator' as well as a conveyor. Itisformed'bymounting a series of inclined parallel rods m m upon a.shaft, having a series of cranks, arranged in such a manner that, as thecranks rotate, the alternate rods 152 m orm 112- will always more in thesome direction, while the' adjacent rods" m m will always move inopposite directions. i The upper edges of. these rods areserrated, asshown in fig. 1, in order to prevent the'vines, &c. from slipping back.They are arranged"longitudinally with tlro machine, the crank-shaft Mcoming immediately under the rear edgc of the plow, and the other end ofthe rod coming directly over the forward edge of the box which is toreceive the potatoes. They are situated so near together that neitherthe potatoes nor the-vines can drop between them, whileyet a space isleft sufiicient for the dirt to be sifted through; The rear end ofthe'rods is supported by and slides upon a cross-bar, T. As thevinesaiid dirt are carried over these hers, the mass is so agitated andshaken by the revolution of the shafts M M-thet the dirt is prettyeffectually cleaned oil, and the vines and potatoes arrive at the upperor'.r,ea'r end of the conveyor comparatively Elcan. 4 J 7 i i If anypotatoes are,in passing along thoronveyer, detachedfron the vincs, theywill be carried along between the cords I I, and under the rollers Hill,and dropped into the hex K clean.

The vines, whether having potatoes attached to them or not, will beinterceptedhy the cords I I, which run on rollers S H, and will be, bythe said cords, raised up from the bars m m, and carried between therollers H H, in passing between which, the potatoes will be detachedfrom them, and will drop upon the conveyor and be carried to box K, asahove described, while the vines will pass between 'the rollers, and bethrown from their rear side upon the ground, or into a receptacleattached to the machine for that purpose.

The belt dythet rotates the rollers H 11, receives its motion from apulley, L, that is connected with of the frnme,,,through which-passesthe axle-tree.

spur-wheel, which gears into a cog-whecl'fN, attachedto one of thedraught-wheels, and having-its teethon the inside of its rim,- shown inthe-drawings; The bearings of the spur-wheel are fixed to'the inclinedpart E of the franic, so that, in order to make it'possihle to put thespur-wheel into or out of gear with the wheel N at v pleasure, I naketheframe itself adjustable on the axle-tree which-supports it; e represcntsa slot in the sides By lowering the fratno E E'down, the wheel will bebrought into gear at the moment that the plow is put into the ground,whileby sliding the frame forward, which raises it on the axle, thewheels are thrown out of gear, and, at the same time, the plow is raisedup frdm the ground. Any suitable device may be employed for thusadjusting the frame on the axle. At present, I use a'lever, O, whichturns a shaft, P, connected to the axle by alink, W.

R is a lever, which operates simultaneously two sliding rods 1* 1',working upon the axle, and causing the ends of the rods to enter orrecede from holes in the inner side of the frume E, whereby-the framecan he fixed at any desiredheight upon the axle.

Having thus'deserilied my invention, what I claim as. new, 'and desireto eeeure by Letters Patent, is- 1. Simultaneously adjusting the plow,and putting the apparatus into or outot' gear with its driving-wheels,

by means of the sliding fraine E E and axle D, when operating togetherfor that purpose, substantially as described.

2. The conveyor-G, in combination with the shovel F,sul)stautially asand for the purpose set forth. in 3, The use oithe'two. rollers H H, forthe purpose of detaching and separating the potatoes from the vines,substantially-as described.

4. The comhinatiomof tho eonveyer ejeorusl nsud" rollers H H,substantiall y asand for the purpose set forth. 7 I

'Tothe above specification Of'lIlYlllVBllhlDQ1I have-signed'my'hand,this 6th day of February, 1868.

WILLIAM GREEN.

Witnesses Cass. A. Pn'rrrr, SOLON G. Ksmou.

